Monday, December 16, 2013

Large knobs made on the lathe

After installing the oversized peg board, and moving the stable sheets (rugs), I installed an old shelf in the saddle room. This helped organize all the odds and ends that always seem to acumulate in a short time. SWMBO asked if I could make something that would hold the riding helmets, thus freeing space that could be used for the bridles instead.

I quickly acccepted and this morning I turned some nice pegs. They look like mushrooms on steroids.

The turning was made with two mushrooms made out of 1 blank. They were then separated using a saw and then ends trimmed using a chisel.

The mounting was done by boring a pilot hole in the base of the mushroom and then screwing from the back of the panel where they were fitted.

Those were then installed on the side of the shelf, and then entire project took about 2 hours including turning and mounting. This is way faster than my ususal projects, but then again it wasn't complicated in any way.

I was able to fit 4 "mushrooms" for helmets, and the remaining 4 were installed near the box of each horse for holding the halters.

I think that some of my turning tools are E.A. Berg, ans one or two are Robert Sorby's I think the rest are No-names.

I us a roughing gouge for the initial turning, a smaller figure gouge for the shaping and then I use a skew for cleaning up the surface. I sometimes cheat a litle, and use the skew as a scraper - and then some sanding. I separate the individual items with a parting tool.

Regarding the sharpening, I guess that the bevel is around 70 degrees, so they hold up prety good. I normally sharpen on my bench grinder and follow up with the buffing wheel. I also keep a small hand stone in my tool cabinet at the lathe, to fresh up the edge every now and then.

It is actually nice to be able to use the lathe for something that is practical. The challenge for me is to accept that all those knobs don't have to be 100% alike. But I am slowly getting there (and getting better at the lathe at the same time)

You are absolutely right. Christmas time is a good time of year for those projects. That always pays off in the way of glögg or egg nog etc. It has always intrigued me, that you can make complicated projects that require all the skill you can muster, and if they are done correctly they will blend in, and no one will notice unless they climb to the hay loft specifically looking for them. And then on the other hand, there are projects like the peg rail which has already been praised by someone who visited the stable, so I guess the World can be an unjust place when it comes to things like time spent versus public attention.

Which wood did you use for the knobs? I think they look awesome! I'm not sure if you've seen Easy Wood Tools, but they make turning tools that are supposedly very nice and simple to work with. Someone I know who is an excellent turner switched to them a few years ago after using traditional turning tools for nearly 30 years and now he swears by them. As far as your unseen projects are concerned I know how you feel completely. I've done some very complex wiring and switching jobs in the past that nobody will ever see or even acknowledge, but I guess that's the way it is...Bill

Hi Bill.I used apple for the knobs. I didn't ad any finish, I hope time will ad the required finish along the way.I just checked the turning tools, and I like the look of them, but I don't plan on getting any new turning tools though.Regarding electric wiring, that is exactly one of those projects that people just take for granted, and never give any thought to how it is executed. The only time they think about it is - if it for any reason doesn't work.BrgdsJonas

Easy Wood Tools would be for somebody like myself, who is not experienced enough at sharpening turning tools to do a good job of it. But you're absolutely right; the only time people care about the wiring is when it stops working!!Bill

I think the Easy Wood Tools seem like a good idea, but I find it hard to justify getting some of them given the limited amount of use my lathe sees. I would also be constantly afraid of loosing the small screws holding the carbide cutting tip. And sharpening of turning tools isn't that complicated.My neighbor was suggested a similar tool from a local vendor. That one you could change the tip, so you had several tools in one handle, but he was afraid that it would lead to using the wrong tip too long, simply because you didn't want to take a minute or two to change it over. I think he is right. I would say that a gouge, a parting tool and a skew or a scraper will get you a long long way. The various sizes make for a nice full looking tool cabinet, but in my opinion they are not essential.Besides, dedicated tools do it for me. The only tool I like changing attachments on is a bit holder for my cordless screwdriver and my ratchet wrench.BrgdsJonas

I agree, as an electrician I always hated using multi-tip screw drivers. Most guys swore by them, but I always preferred having dedicated sizes for each driver, though IDEAL tool used to make a 5 in 1 that I did really like using. But it always seemed to me that the single tools were much better constructed. Bill